(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market stabilizes

Cow-calf producers selling sooner than normal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $2-$3 on either side of unchanged. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis at $275 delivered; the Alberta fed market has rallied $10-$12 over the past couple weeks. Secondly, U.S. feeder cattle prices have also rallied US$10-US$12 during the same time frame […] Read more

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (second from left) and Nate Horner (right), her Alberta counterpart, during a tour of Olds College’s Smart Farm on Thursday. (Photo: Olds College/Sergei Belski, www.oldscollege.ca)

Alberta looks for feed, Ottawa promises cash for B.C.

Alberta to help with veterinary testing after B.C.'s lab flooded, Alberta ag minister says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Even though supplies are low because of drought, Alberta is looking for feed to send to B.C. livestock producers, while Ottawa will provide emergency financial assistance to farmers dealing with flooding and closed roads in the hard-hit province. “We’ve been working with the B.C. department of agriculture,” Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner said during a […] Read more


(Andreus/iStock/Getty Images)

Hay-starved Prairies fertile ground for online scammers

At least $64,000 lost in Alberta alone, RCMP says

Reading Time: 2 minutes High demand, scarce supplies and rising prices for hay and other feeds due to this summer’s drought on the Prairies have made a market for online scammers, RCMP warn. The urgency driving such transactions may cause ranchers, farmers and farm workers to make purchases “without taking time to properly verify or research production sources,” Alberta […] Read more

(GFM file photo)

CFA’s Hay West program up and running

Program website now online

Reading Time: 2 minutes A revival of the “Hay West” initiative, aimed at shipping feed from Eastern Canada to supplement drought-dented supplies in the West, has gone live. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture on Friday announced its Hay West 2021 initiative is “now operational and seeking applicants to both receive and supply hay.” Applicants interested in either supplying or […] Read more


(MDS.mennonite.net)

Ontario MDS volunteers already moving hay west

Disaster response group spearheading program separate from CFA plan

Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s in the spirit of co-operation in difficult times that a group of Ontario farmers have launched a hay donation program to assist their Saskatchewan counterparts. Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada, a volunteer organization that provides assistance in the aftermath of disasters in Canada and the U.S., is organizing the latest iteration of Hay West […] Read more

AAFC’s Drought Monitor map as of Aug. 31, 2021.

Drought maps show little change at end of August

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Much of Western Canada remained in some state of drought at the end of August despite widespread rains late in the month, according to updated maps compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The area mapped out as dealing with ‘exceptional drought’ in south-central Manitoba’s agricultural regions contracted slightly compared to the previous month […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Optimistic fed cattle outlook supports feeder market

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2-$4 higher. Strong demand was noted on yearlings, which spilt over into the lighter weight categories. Major feedlot operators in Alberta set the price structure, with aggressive orders flowing across the Prairies. Some operators have been holding back on purchases due to higher prices; however, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Plans afoot to move hay from East to drought-hit West

CFA, BFO spearheading Hay West-style initiatives

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm groups are spearheading new plans to get livestock feed from Eastern Canada to drought-damaged regions of the western provinces and northwestern Ontario. Details are still pending, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) announced Aug. 12 it has started work on a “Hay West” initiative to get surplus hay “to those struggling in the […] Read more


Photo: File

Alberta reckons with poor quality, low crop yields

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Crops in Alberta will not only have much lower yields than in previous years, but good quality crops will be harder to find. Provincial crop condition ratings declined over the past two weeks, according to the Province of Alberta’s biweekly crop report as of Aug. 10, which was released three days later. Only […] Read more